Do you really want to win?
by 60EndsToACircus
Summary: The year is 2012. A time all know for the end of everything as we know it. But, even after everything is over, humans still have a chance to survive. To create one singular country, Panem, and rebuild their wold. Unfortunately, that means that only one country can survive. A fight to the death chooses the survivor. But do you really want to win?


Arthur sighed rather loudly as he held the doorknob to the room of the latest world conference. Just standing there he could hear the sounds of the yelling and fighting. Honestly, he was rather tired of it. He didn't know why they even had these; nothing ever got accomplished except the nations punching the living daylights out of each other and the occasional trip to the hospital.

At least he had one thing to look forward too upon entering. America. It was him that got him going every day. Just his smile was enough to brighten his day, though he would never admit it. He took a deep breath before opening the door into that dreadfully loud room.

Unfortunately, the first thing he was met with was an arm around his shoulder and who did it belong to, none other than that frog, Francis, His only enemy...or at least frienemy. There were times when they got along, as rare as they were.

He scowled and pushed the arm off his shoulder," What do you want?"

Francis looked down at him, slightly confused. "Did you not just hear me? I asked where have you been mon Cher Angleterre?"

Arthur shrugged," I guess you're just not worth listening to in my opinion, now bugger off, it's not you're business where I was." he grumbled and stalked off before he could respond. He sat down in his designated spot near the end of the large table, wedged in between Germany and Switzerland.

As soon as he sat down the others slowly filtered into their own seats, the atmosphere terribly unsociable. Not that Arthur wanted to socialize, he preferred not too actually, but the tension even to him was rather unusually uncomfortable. He squirmed in his seat slightly, already eager to end this thing. He looked over at America's seat, hoping to see him conversing lightly, as he always was, with someone next to him, usually Italy, but he wasn't. He was looking down at the table, looking distant and sad, which was so rare and unusual it put unease in almost everyone. America was one of those people who always saw the bright side in everything and it must be bad if he couldn't see a bright side in whatever was troubling him. Arthur tried not to think about it but when someone coughed to remind America to go to the front of the table to start, or at least that's what he figured it was for, and when he didn't move everyone shifted, even more uncomfortable than before. It was all rather depressing.

Arthur was the first to speak up; knowing no one else was going to. It almost made him feel left out, like everyone else knew something he didn't. "Well get up there you git, let's get this bloody thing over with!" instantly he regretted speaking up. Everyone looked his way and shook there heads. Even America looked at him like and abandoned puppy. Now he was sure everyone was keeping something from him. Thankfully everyone looked away as America finally stood and Arthur let go of a breath that he didn't know he had been holding.

America didn't move from his spot, he stood there for a minute before speaking up softly," well, it seems England wasn't here when I announced it before so I'll announce it again," he said, another thing unusual, he called him England, not Iggy or Artie, against Arthur's requests for him to stop, or any of those pet names. The last time he had ever really called him England was during the time he wanted his independence. He flinched as one thought led to another and he remembered again. Dammit! Why did he do this to himself constantly? He tried as he could to push all thoughts away and tried to concentrate on what America was saying. "Well, as you guys know, the world is coming to an end...2012 is the end...but we still have a chance. After this..." he swallowed thickly, "Apocalypse. We have a chance to start anew. Unfortunately, only a select number of humans get to survive...all our governments have gotten together and discussed this...we will make one government after this on my land. What it will be is uncertain at this point...what we do know is that the rich will live in the capital city which the name is uncertain and there will be various districts that work to keep the country running..." he pause to catch his breath," now to the part that concerns us...as you all know, as long as our countries exist, so do we...well, after this, there will only be one country...it will be called Panem and only one of us can take the job and be this new country..." he paused again, almost like he was thinking over his words. Arthur's heart was racing, only one country, only one of them was to survive, how would they determine who would be this lucky, or would it be unlucky, country? It would be rather lonely to be the only country around. But then as Arthur thought about it he figured that would be great. To never be bothered by others, never have these stupid meetings again. It was sounding better and better the more he thought about it. But he was only thinking about the good points.

His head snapped up when America continued," what I didn't tell any of you is...how we will determine who gets the position..." he swallowed again, looking sadder than before," the major countries will be taken away from the minor...the minors...will be sentenced to death...they don't really get a chance..."he stated the last part so softly almost no one heard him, but enough did that faces of horror and a couple (manly?) tears were shed. It was all silent though, no one interrupted him, like everyone had known this was coming. America continued," the major powers will...will be sent into an arena...only one will come out alive...to be more specific...we have to kill each other...our immortality will be suspended for as long as we're in this arena. The details of the arena are unknown to me, but I know it will be huge. It will be some part of wilderness, so it's not a fighting ring..."he looked around and it was obvious he was holding back his own tears," that's all I know about it though...that's all..." he sat back down and the uncomfortable feeling became more intense than ever.

It wasn't spoken but once America stopped talking everyone started to stand. It wasn't until Germany spoke that everyone paused again," So everyone knows...I vas told zat if you are a contender in ze arena, your room will be visited tonight...you vill be given a number and tomorrow..."he paused," Goodbyes will have to be quick, we have to be as fast as possible...the earths last day is soon..."

With a nod everyone was officially dismissed. Arthur put his head in his hands, massaging his temples, obviously stressed. His head was spinning, thoughts moving through his mind so fast it was making him dizzy. He knew what he had just heard was true, but he couldn't help but deny it. Denial was the only thing that kept him from breaking down, he wouldn't believe what was happening. If he just denied it long enough, it would just go away right? He felt a hand on his back, moving in slow, comforting circles. It was Francis, he knew it for certain, he could smell his Bleu de Chanel cologne from the distance he was sitting. He had the urge to swat his hand away, but he didn't, honestly, it's what he needed right now, and it didn't matter from whom he got it from.

"Why didn't he tell me..."he mumbled under his breath. It wasn't for Francis to answer but he did anyway.

"You don't control him..." he answered quietly," he would have told you, but you were late this morning..."

"I-I know I don't...it's just...I thought...he would tell me first..."

"I don't see why he would, it doesn't only concern you mon ami..."he paused," but he did purposely tell you last...he...he didn't want you drinking your emotions away...so he waited, he waited until the day before to tell you so you would believe it and actually not try and drink away your troubles..." he sighed as if it's what he did every time. Which was actually true, he always drank to get rid of his problems, one day it would probably kill him, but for now he could care less.

"Who says I won't?..."

"Me...Amerique."

Arthur just scowled, he knew America to know well enough that when he had his mind set on something it happened. Well, all except his plans to have a global superhero save the world from global warming. Arthur wouldn't be drinking tonight, he knew that for certain. He grit his teeth and stood. He gave a low growl, a glare and quickly stalked off, not looking back as he walked down the hall towards the front door. He needed to take a long walk, clear his mind. He had no idea why he was so worked up about this; it was understandable if he was sad or a little scared. He wasn't either of those though, he was just mad. For some reason he was furious, he felt like he had been left out of something. Something that obviously involved his life.

He paced back and fourth, thoughts whirling trying to touch each subject at once. He just couldn't get his head around this thing; he was going to have to ...kill the others. But then again, did he even want to become this, this Panem. Bloody hell! He was so confused, and rather lost on the whole thing. He exhaled deeply and stopped pacing, for he was getting weird stares from others on the street, he cleared his mind. He simply wiped his mind clean of all thoughts and pushed it aside for another time. The walk back to the hotel was a much better one, all thoughts gone and any emotions on the subject pushed aside as well.

It had gotten quite late by the time he got back to the hotel. He had seen the street lights flicker on and saw fewer and fewer people as it got later and later. Of course, he hadn't realized how far he had walked before he was standing by the door and suddenly felt an odd dizzy feeling and needed to sit down. He quickly got up the elevator and went to his room; for once he was feeling good despite the dizziness. But when he opened the door the good feeling immediately dissolved into annoyance and irritation when he immediately saw Francis stand from his bed.

"What do you want now." he asked, a scowl reappearing on his features.

He chuckled and stood to leave," I'm just making sure you're still sober." he smiled and pushed past Arthur, bumping his shoulder gently before walking down the hall, an obvious skip in his step.

Arthur's eyebrows furrowed, he was oddly happy despite the doom and gloom feel of almost the entire hotel, it was almost a bit unnerving. He shut the door, coming to the conclusion it must be "a French thing". He gathered his silk nightclothes, a gift from china for god knows why, and stripped himself of his day clothes. However he did not feel like changing just yet. He lay on the bed, his body left bare to the world, bathed in the light from the almost full moon. The whole room was peacefully silent as Arthur looked out the window towards the sky. A flood of questions invaded his thoughts, is this the last time I'll get to see the moon? Is this the last night sky? Is tomorrow my last day on earth? Or will I have a chance to live? Do I even want to live? Will I win this fight? Do I even want to win? What do I want? Why is this happening?

He closed his eyes, contemplating each question with careful thought and attention to detail. But, his luck wouldn't give him the time, all his thoughts shattered again as he was interrupted by a loud and rather obnoxious exclamation of:

"Holy shit, Artie get some clothes on." his eyes shot open to find the one blonde he didn't want to talk to. Well, apart from Francis of course. He quickly scrambled to get off the bed and to slip on a robe, not even caring about the nightclothes he had just laid out to change into.

"What the bloody hell you git! Haven't you ever heard of knocking!" he quickly tied the rope and sat back down," I thought I taught you better..." he mumbled.

Alfred turned to look back and unevenness his eyes," sorry, I just...well I didn't think.."

"You never think."

He looked a bit hurt by that but it was replaced by his award winning smile," well, maybe, but you know, you're never naked or anything, you always have stuff on so I figured it would be okay..."

"Alright I get it, may we please changed the subject, I would like to sleep."

He nodded," Oh, Ya, sorry I just came to give you this." he handed Arthur a small card which he took to quickly look at. It was blank except for a number 36 on it. "it's you're number, you're in the tournament...though I'm sure you already figured that..."

Arthur nodded and put the card on the bedside table," Why do I need a number?"

"Because it will tell you what room to go to a day from tomorrow and it will be your tracking number."

"Tracking number? How many of us will there be!?"

"48...Er, 49, Switzerland refused to leave Liechtenstein behind..."

"Why didn't they choose her though? She does well when it comes to fighting."

" Because they didn't find her important, they only chose countries that they thought were worth taking a look at..."

Arthur nodded again; this was a bit much to take in at once." So, did any of my brothers get picked?"

"Don't know dude, I only came to deliver your number. You weren't here when the lady came around so she asked me to give it to you."

"Oh, well...thank you..." When nothing happened he looked over to Alfred," Thank you...you can go..."

He looked like he wanted to say more and didn't make a move towards the door," Arthur? Are...are you scared?"

Arthur sighed and looked to the floor, "I suppose...yes, I am." it felt odd to be saying out loud, it made him feel almost, weak. "Now please...I need my sleep..." Alfred nodded, hearing it in the rise in Arthur's voice that he didn't want him asking questions. After a minute Arthur heard him leave. He sat back again and took the card from the nightstand. He flipped it around in his fingers, wincing when it slices into his finger. He looked over and watched the blood bead up and then disappear as quickly as it had appeared. He realized this would be over by tomorrow or the day after, if he got cut, it wouldn't heal fast, it would linger until it naturally healed. They could probably even get infected if he didn't treat them. That's when he realized he didn't really know what a real gash or a cut felt like, especially if it got infected. He always healed before anything could really hurt. He shivered and put the card back on the nightstand, crawling instantly under the covers. He didn't want to think about this...ever. But he would have to tomorrow, so he would tomorrow. But tonight, he would rest with nothing on his mind, he would sleep like it was any other day and he didn't have plans yet for tomorrow. He pushed his nightclothes off the bed, realizing he wasn't going to need them anymore, ever and closed his eyes, allowing sleep to take him to another world away from his problems and away from reality.

Kaelin woke in the very early hours of the morning. Having been unable to sleep for too long because of worry. She never thought she would be picked to be a competitor in the "tournament" to become the new country of Panem. When the lady came to give her number, 12, she was shocked and almost a bit, disappointed. She didn't want to go into this competition, she didn't want to kill, she didn't want to get involved, and she most certainly didn't want to win.

Standing up from her bed she quickly changed into her favorite blue and white dress, brushed her wheat blonde hair, and put it in long pigtails. Today was the day all countries participating would get prepared for what they were about to be thrown into, then, they would be thrown into it without a second to spare. Opening the door she expected to be up before everyone else, for their preparation was another three hours, but just sticking her head out the door she could hear the loud din of everyone already down in the lobby. Walking down the hall to the railing she looked over to the ground level. It was one of those hotels that in the middle of each floor there was a large square hole that went all the way to the bottom and the hallways branched off from that large hole. She could see everyone mingling, most of them crying because of what was to happen in only one day. She could clearly see Feliciano gripping his larger German companion, whom of which she had never learned the name of. He looked like he didn't know how to comfort the smaller Italian who was clinging to his shirt and crying into his chest as they sat in one of the many chairs. It looked like they could be a couple, which she knew they weren't, but the way it looked now made her chuckle slightly to herself.

She stopped quickly, it was wrong to laugh at something like this. Sighing, she went downstairs to join the rest of the countries in the lobby. Almost instantly she saw her brother, Jack, turn to face her, a large smile forming on his face as she stepped out of the elevator. She didn't even have time to process what was happening before she was lifted off the ground and almost all air was squeezed out of her as she was bear hugged. Jack looked at her after he put her back down and smiled wider.

"I'm so happy to see you." he said, it was obvious he had been worrying, and she didn't blame him, it was something everyone was doing. Fearing, worrying, and crying about how they would have to leave or kill their friends and family. "I was worried you hadn't been chosen...that they had taken you last night."

She tilted her head to the side in confusion," What do you mean? I thought we had time to say goodbye this morning!"

"It turns out we were misinformed..." a woman that her brother had been speaking to just minutes earlier spoke up. She had brown hair and sparkling amber eyes. Everything about her seemed in some way to be brown and blended in deeply with her tan. It was obvious by the way she spoke she was Italian. She smiled though you could tell it was forced," people who weren't chosen got taken last night we shall not see them again in this life."

Kaelin looked to the floor; she wondered who she knew that was gone. Now she knew why Jack was so worried about her," Did you have anyone...that you knew?"

The women nodded," One of my brothers...he was south Italy though most just called him Romano or Lovino..."

"Did we...did we lose anyone brother?" she asked, this time directed at Jack.

"Yes...we lost big brother Scotland and Wales as well as little Peter...I'm not sure about big brother England he hasn't come down yet, but Ireland is here...we lost a lot of other relatives that you haven't met as well...but I doubt that's too important.."

She nodded for the umpteenth time," So what do we do now?"

The tan women answered this time," We just wait, we have three hours until preparation and ten hours before we are meant to go into the arena...while you were not here we found out that the arena will be in the wilderness, if that means anything to you.." she meant if Kaelin actually cared, which she didn't. She was slightly confused by all this, it was all a bit overwhelming. Excusing herself from the conversation she went and sat down in one of the chairs, her head panning the whole room. She certainly wasn't the youngest of the countries, being only eighteen it was a bit of a scary thought. Unfortunately only about half of them were in her age range; most of the varying countries were in there twenties or thirties.

Her head whipped around with everyone else's as she heard the elevator ding and watched as what she knew as Turkey and Denmark. She had never actually talked to them before, so she wasn't sure of their names. She didn't know if she ever would. They seemed to freeze as they found everyone staring at them and only unfroze when everyone looked away. It happened again when Vash and Liese came down in the elevator. More and more came, some she knew, some she didn't. She had moved from her chair and into her brothers lap despite how much bigger she was now. He didn't mind either. She leaned back, practically laying right on top of him. Almost everyone was in the lobby now and it was obvious people were getting anxious. She felt Jack shift underneath her and she moved to get comfortable, shifting her body to look over her shoulder at him.

"You alright?" she asked a small smile on her face.

"I'm just nervous, I'm afraid...I don't want to lose you..."

Her smiled faded and she looked away, "Actually I was talking about me sitting on you...but...I understand how you feel, I don't want to lose you either."

"Don't worry, I'll protect you...just stay with me, we'll stick together like we promised."

Kaelin was a bit confused about what he meant at first but after a minute of silence it clicked. She remembered the promise she had made to Jack when big brother England abandoned them both. She had promised to help him and he had promised to help her. They eventually made promise that they would always have each others back and they would always protect each other. "Yes, yes...I'll stay with you...I promise..." she said the last part quietly as the elevator made its final ding and the last contestant stepped out. Kaelin didn't know this country; it was one of the Asian ones. The one with dark brown hair and the curl that somehow looked like it had...was that a face?

She shrugged it off, honestly not caring as a women stepped into the large open room.

"Good morning everybody." the women said with an over exaggerated wide smile that Kaelin figured to be rather inappropriate for the situation. "I'll be your instructor for today, if you have questions ask me. I will be taking you to a training room, I know you all know how to fight but guns and magic are not permitted." you could obviously hear England grumble to himself in the background when she said now magic. "so, if all fourth eight-" before she could get any future Switzerland coughed loudly and obnoxiously into his hand." Forty nine," she corrected herself. It was obvious their "instructor" was struggling to keep that unneeded smile," if all forty nine of you will follow me that would be great." she turned and everyone stood but paused as she turned," Also, you are people now, you still have your immortality now but you are no longer countries. You have human names; it is time you get used to referring to each other with such names." She nodded and turned to walk again, this time not turning back. Kaelin followed, her hand squeezing her brothers gently as they walked. She could feel her knees shaking as she climbed into a big bus with all the other...could she say countries? The bus would bring them into a city she didn't know existed in the USA, or in upper USA that apparently was a country in it's own, she didn't know why they didn't just combine northern USA with regular USA. Well, it didn't really matter now did it. She sat down in one of the seats and waited as the vehicle was started and drove. Drove them all, except one, to their doom.

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**Well, Here's my first fanfiction everybody. I hope you enjoyed~ sorry for the cheesy ending, but i really just wanted to get it over with. So, sorry but that was just my laziness at work. **

**Reviews are love and give me much confidence that people actually like (or have are nice enough to correct me without screaming...) what i have written. Anyways, Once again I thank you for reading and I hope to see you in the near future.  
**

**/"Going backwards and forwards into time is too mainstream, lets just go sideways"/  
**

**~60EndsToACircus  
**


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